“A wildly successful video ad is usually seen as a black swan, an outlier that’s unpredictable and unrepeatable. Discovering how to create and distribute highly shareable content, repeatedly and at scale, should be at the top of every brand marketer’s wish list.”

Now, a wave of new video sharing platforms is changing the branded video scene yet again, by limiting videos to a few quick seconds. One of the fastest growing video platforms is Twitter’s Vine, which limits clips to six seconds, and has now been downloaded by 13 million iPhone users. To keep up, Facebook has added video to Instagram as well, with a 15 second limit.

Businesses want to take advantage of massive viewership on these platforms. If cracking repeatable success in product videos is difficult, it can only be harder when brands are limited to a handful of seconds – right? Still, a few brands are finding ways to engage in mere moments.

Stories spark interest in seconds

The short time limit may actually be a blessing in disguise, argues Gabrielle Kessler, accounts manager for Something Massive, which manages social media for Regal Entertainment Group. Many marketers in the film industry have successfully used Vine to promote their blockbuster movies, such as Regal’s recent campaigns for upcoming movies Monsters University and World War Z. Gabrielle explains:

“The limitations of six seconds can actually lift the storytelling. You get to home in on those emotionally engaging moments that both marketers and filmmakers are after. We are really encouraged with the engagement the app is producing so far.”

Regal has partnered with Coca-Cola and Red Vines licorice on a massive social media campaign aimed to get people into movie theaters with a Coke and licorice in-hand. Red Vines has run 20 ads on Vine, and according to a rep for the company, the clips are having a positive impact on the brand:

“[Vine] has brought our brand top of mind with people who hadn’t thought of us in years.”

Seconds of utility make for sharable videos

Another brand leading the way in video marketing is the home improvement giant Lowe’s, which has launched a new campaign called “Lowe’s Fix in Six.” The retailer’s Vine channel features six-second videos showing how to perform various DIY household improvement tasks like storing cleaning products, peeling stickers off items using a hairdryer, and using a rubber band to work with a stripped screw. Says Natalie Zmuda of AdAge:

“Plenty of marketers are experimenting with Vine, but few have made the six-second video platform truly useful for consumers. Lowe’s may be on its way to cracking the code.”

While Lowes and Regal are two brands at the forefront of bite-sized video marketing, there are several other businesses getting creative with the new platforms. We preach storytelling and utility as tips for grabbing attention across most forms of content. Vine, Instagram and the like just require those hallmarks to happen in a flash – making them that much more important to each video’s success.